Jake Anderson Struggles Amid Death of His Uncle Nick Mavar

[Warning: The below contains spoilers for Deadliest Catch Season 21]

At the start of the August 29 episode of Deadliest Catch, Captain Keith Colburn spoke about the danger factor of the job and reflected on losing friends over his storied career. Perhaps none knows this more at the moment than Jake Anderson. 

During the episode the Titan Explorer captain expressed frustration at his lack of progress. He received a call from his Uncle John Mavar, who was checking in with his nephew. Members of the family were having dinner on what would have been Jake’s Uncle Nick Mavar’s birthday. “It has been a lot harder than I thought,” Jake said. John said the best way to honor him was to catch king crab. Nick was a regular on the Discovery Channel series almost 100 episodes across much of the show’s run.

Nick Mavar/Facebook

 Nick died of a heart attack in Crystal Bay, Alaska on June 13, 2024. Jake found out about his relative during his son Cadence’s birthday. This news hit him hard considering it was Nick who Jake credited with helping through addiction and got him started in the crabbing industry. “It’s the biggest gift I have ever been given,” Jake said. “My Uncle Nick picked me up and helped save my life.” With the passing weighing on his mind, Jake knew he had to move forward with the task at hand. He looked to move northeast and a canyon area, which has been where crabs go in to hide from the tides and currents. There were four or five days left until an offloading deadline. 

Jake was trying to organize a memorial and began reaching out to other captains. First was Sig Hansen, who was working through his own issues on the Northwestern. Sig met with crew member and son-in-law Clark Pederson to work through a ledge and ridge that were impeding their crab numbers. They looked to create a counterweight to pull the pots and tighten up the line. Sig also had Nick on his mind and felt his presence. He ended up working through the problem and received a big score. 

Discovery Channel

The Wizard had around 40,000 pounds before drop off. Keith Colburn bet the farm on the one space. However, the hot-headed captain needed to figure out why he wasn’t getting the results he wanted. He stepped out to find new bait and old bait were on top of each other. This led to a shouting match between Keith and his brother Monte over the fish issue.

Jake rang Keith in the middle of their argument to talk about Nick. Keith was on board for any kind of tribute. He got emotional about the call and told Monte they had to get things right. It got them both thinking how there are more important things than what they were arguing about. The call put things in perspective. Keith told “Mouse” he never thanked him for saving his life after his medical emergency suffered onboard last season. The two embraced. An emotional moment for the brothers. Keith said, “I don’t say I love you enough. I don’t say thank you enough to my brother. I have to start remembering that.” 

Elsewhere, the Aleutian Lady were in the midst of a storm to work through. Co-captains Sophia “Bob” Nielsen and Rick Shelford heard thunderous sounds. Rick went down to investigate and found out the pump three shut off and wouldn’t turn back on. There were more than a quarter of a million dollars that could be lost due to a slack tank in the middle of the storm. The crew needed to get water back into the tank pronto. Rick noticed the breaker was tripped, even though the alarm didn’t go off. The pump was working and the breaker reset but dead crab was a real concern. They had to offload quickly to find out what kind of damage was done. Offloading out  in the  sea with boats rocking was easier said than done. Swells were coming on strong, but they fulfilled their mission. Luckily, not much was lost. 

Jake put out a call on the radio to honor his Uncle Nick. The other captains listened in with tears flowing throughout. “If anyone wants to take a moment to say a prayer, my family would really appreciate it, “Jake added. Keith said his prayer for the fallen shipmate and tolled the bell to mark Nick’s “final watch.” Jake fired off a pot with his name and years of life on it. Sig and crew shared a drink. Keith led off fireworks with clips shown from Nick’s time on the show. A heartwarming scene. 

Deadliest Catch, Fridays, 8/7c, Discovery Channel